Unanswered Questions
by Anything
Summary: Please read author's notes. Everything is explained there. Non yaoi pairing. Sorry all yaoi fans IbikiXOC
1. Disclaimer, Author's notes & Chap 1

Disclaimer and Author's notes

I would like to declare that I DON'T own Naruto coz that belongs with it's rightful owner Kishimoto Masashi.  Now, with that out of the way…

Author's notes (Part 1):

Hi!  I would like to stake my claim on Hatake Rin, Mayumi, Haruto, Fukada Toko, and all things pertaining to Blood Jutsu.  All these are ©7 May 2003 by Anything. \(^_^)/ However, if u wish to use the idea, dun hesitate to drop me a note.  (So that I can read your fanfic too!) ^^

This is a story about a ninja that has left the village 2 years ago has returned to find out the answers to some of her questions.  She is an orphan, but was adopted by the Hatake family for some reason or the other. 

There are some thoughts of characters/mind voices which are in single quotation marks and in bold.  So, note that these are not spoken out loud, but rather what the character is thinking.  

Ok, that's about it.  So, enjoy!

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Chapter 1: Introduction

'**I'm home**.' Rin thought to herself as she neared the Hidden village of Konoha.  It had been 2 years since she had left the village in search of her past, a past that seemed to haunt her to no end.  She wore what seemed like a forest green high slit cheongsam with tights underneath that stretched from her hip all the way to her legs.  She had her hair tied up in a bun, but some of it still seemed to escape from the clips that she had used to secure it neatly.  She wore her forehead protector around her neck. It had seemed like an age since she had left the place that she called home.  Home.  That was the one place that she had longed to return, and yet…The reality of returning was starting to sink in as she neared the village, she wondered how much has changed since she had left, and what was the Hokage going to think about her return this time…?  


	2. Meetings

Author's notes (Part 2):

This is a romance story (NOT yaoi/slash/lemons), which is the first one I've ever written in my entire life. It is an AU (alternate universe), please note that it doesn't really have anything to do with the main storyline of Naruto, but think of it as a small side story that you would find in an appendix section. BTW, this story is COMPLETE. I have no wish to bring it any further, coz it would just make it crappy, well to me anyway… But I wouldn't mind suggestions to make it better.

You may see that there are quite a few chapters to this, but it really is a short story. Some chapters are really just a few paragraphs, but I find a need to separate them, as they tend to go between the present and the past. I will be denoting chapters that are FlashBacks with a FB in front, before the chapter title. Chapter one has been combined into this page due to a new ruling from , though I must say that it is really not my style of things. O well, creativity within rules, I guess

OK! Now on with Chapter 2!

* * *

"Shut up Sasuke!" Naruto screamed at his teammate. "You're not going to beat me this time! I'm gonna make you take back all that you said about me!" Kakashi sighed, while Sakura tried to get Naruto to shut up and Sasuke tried to ignore him. It had been a while since they had gone on a mission, and all this training seems to be making Naruto and Sasuke compete with each other even more. It had been difficult to get them to pass the Chunin exam, but they had finally made it through, and although they have been promoted in terms of rank, it still didn't improve Naruto's attitude towards his teammate. Teamwork, it seems, was a little out of order lately. 

"That's enough!" Kakashi said to his students and walked up to Naruto. "Standing here all day isn't going to prove that you're better than him, you know." Naruto looked at his sensei with a look that seemed to say "Hah?" "I would suggest that you get back to your training, ne?" That seemed to start another round from Naruto, but Kakashi wasn't really listening anymore. Someone was watching them. That someone had just got here, but why was this person spying on them, he had no idea. There was something familiar about this person though…

It took some more convincing and advising from Kakashi, but they had finally gone back to their training. Today's lesson was on intermediate Genjutsu skills, which Sakura seemed to be best at. Sasuke looked in his direction a couple of times, and seemed to indicate that he had noticed the extra presence as well. Naruto, on the other hand, seemed to carry on with his training in total ignorance of it. It was only sometime near dinner that Kakashi decided to call it quits for the day. Naruto was still determined to practice, but this time, Kakashi stopped him. He knew that Naruto was totally exhausted, and training some more could have long term health effects, if not fatal. Besides, he wanted to find out whom it was that was spying on them.

"Sakura, do you feel…like someone is following us?" Naruto whispered to her.

"Geez, don't tell me you didn't notice it up until now?!" Sakura told Naruto, who stared in disbelief that he might be the only one that didn't know about it.

"Sensei, what do you think?" Sasuke asked. "Why would anyone want to spy on us, especially since we are not on any missions?"

"I don't know, but it sure seems familiar," Kakashi said, but still didn't know who it was. "Why don't we split up? We might be able to find out who it is that this person is following?" All his three students looked at him like as if he had made an unheard of decision. "Split up and meet at the terrace in fifteen minutes. Sasuke, you take the North route, Sakura, east, Naruto, South. I'll go westward." In an instant, they split up, seemingly disappearing from view.

Kakashi felt the person follow him almost immediately, and realized that he was the target, but why? There was only one thing left to do, and he stopped, and simply confronted what seemed to be thin air.

"Aren't you tired of hiding? Show yourself!" Kakashi said, and it was almost a minute before whoever it was revealed herself. "Wha…?"

"Hi! Long time no see! I really didn't expect you to have become a Sensei! Sugoi!" the female who stood before him greeted with a smile, and Kakashi suddenly realized who it was.

"Rin?" He couldn't quite believe it. "You're back? When?"

"Probably when you first sensed my presence," Rin answered, and stuck her tongue out sheepishly. "Are you going to stand there all night or welcome me home?" Kakashi seemed to smile and come out of some trance or another. It was a moment that he had almost never expected to see. He took a moment to give her a proper greeting, before asking her one question.

"Have you found what you were looking for?" Rin's face didn't seem to have much expression. She thought about it for a while before answering him.

"More or less," Kakashi had wanted to continue the discussion but knew that he had students waiting for him, and that Rin would have to report to the Hokage before she would be allowed home.

"You'd better go and report in to Hokage," Kakashi advised. "We'll talk later, besides, I'm a sensei, I have to be responsible for my students, you know!"

"You? With that rubberized timing of yours, I'm very surprised you even got to become a Jounin!" Rin told him mischievously, while Kakashi put a hand over his forehead and just shook his head.

"Will you please go already?" Kakashi said, he was starting to remember those days when she was around.

"OK," Rin smiled and turned to go.

"Rin," Kakashi called out as she was about to leave. "Take the West route to the Hokage's quarters. Ibiki is stationed at the East wing." Rin froze when she heard that sentence. She didn't turn around to face him, only smiled a little bitterly to herself, and thanked him for the info, before taking off in the direction of the main hall.

There were some different buildings here and there, but the main structure of the streets of the Hidden Village of Konoha didn't seem much different from the village that she had left behind 2 years ago. She took Kakashi's advice and entered from the West. The guards didn't recognize her, but let her through after seeing her forehead protector. There was still activity going on here. It was run almost 24:7. There always seemed to be something to do. It was amazing that she still remembered how to get to the Main Hall, which was at the center of the headquarters. When she got there, she was stopped at the door, by one of the guards.

"Hatake Rin?" the guard asked her.

"Hai." Rin acknowledged.

"Hokage sama will speak with you in private. I will escort you to the private gardens." With that, he turned to walk in the direction of their destination, and Rin just followed. When they arrived, she found herself at a pavilion in the center of a garden. Hokage was waiting for her there. When her escort left, she greeted the Hokage.

"Okaeri nasai, Rin." Hokage answered. "Have some tea with me?"

""Thank you, Hokage sama," Rin said, as she took a seat. "I'm sure you knew of my return some time ago."

"Of course, nothing escapes my eye," he said, and took another sip of tea. "So, have you found what you were looking for?" He asked after a long while.

"Hmmm… I suppose I have," Rin replied. "But I don't know what I am supposed to do now."

"I think you already know." Hokage retorted. "I think there are some other issues here that make you wonder if you really should come back." Rin winced visibly from that remark, as she knew that he was right. "Rin, whatever your decision may be, I will support you on this. I know that it isn't easy to go out there and find out about a past that you didn't know you had, but whatever it is, just remember, no one knows about the true identity of the undead shinobi. It is still possible for you to have something here. I hope that you will consider that before making your decision."

"Thank you," Rin said, and took a careful sip of tea. "I really appreciate all that you've done for me. I really want to stay, but there are some things that I have to consider first."

"Mmmm" was the only comment that the Hokage made, and he took another sip of tea. There was another long pause before he spoke again. "I'm sure you have met Kakashi and his students."

"Yes, I have, isn't one of them the survivor of the Uchiha clan?" Rin asked, while the Hokage nodded.

"The other boy is the vessel for the Nine tailed fox, Naruto," Hokage said. "I think you must understand what it was like for him to grow up not knowing anyone."

"Well, not exactly, at least I was lucky enough to have a foster family," Rin replied. "But I do understand how it feels to be … different."

"So, is it another advanced bloodline?" Hokage asked, and she nodded.

"One of them was. The other ability, seems to be some kind of family trait." She explained.

"Meaning?" Hokage repeated. This was getting interesting.

"My father was a ninja, that had origins somewhere near the Village of Earth. My mother was from the country of Lightning." Rin said, starting to relate what she had found out. "I can't remember the Clan that he was from, but I only know that it was a clan that specialized in blood jutsu."

"Blood jutsu?" Hokage repeated, but didn't let on to what he was thinking.

"Hai. I learnt that it was a clan that was wiped out long ago, how my father survived, I don't know, but there doesn't seem to be any trace of him now." Rin said. "Someone actually said that he was dead, lost in battle, but his body was never recovered. Somehow, I don't believe them to be right."

"I thought as much. What about your mother?" Hokage pressed on.

"Vampire. She was a vampire." Rin said. "She was also supposed to be dead. I only managed to find out where she lives. Visiting the house only told me what her family was like. The only artifact I found was a diary that belonged one of my mother's relations."

"I see," Hokage said, finishing his tea. "I would suggest you take sometime to get reacquainted with all those that you left behind 2 years ago. I won't be sending you out on any missions till further notice. Dismissed." With that, Rin got up and left. She would probably head back to the apartment that she had shared with Kakashi. He had said that she could always bunk in with him and that was probably what she was going to do for now. She started to wonder what had happened to the rest of her teammates. She had heard that they had both made it to Jounin status, and was waiting for her to return to form a shinobi special ops team. She was looking forward to seeing them again, after all they were the ones who understood her situation and having worked together for so many years as a Gennin and then as Chunin, their teamwork was practically unbeatable. It wasn't long before she had reached Kakashi's place, and she had found her brother waiting for her. His apartment was neat and tidy, it was probably the cleanest place to her. She had known how much he hates a mess, and will keep things as tidy as possible.

"How'd it go?" he asked, the moment she walked through the door.

"It was alright," she said, as she took off her shoes and entered the apartment proper. He was sitting on the couch, doing some serious channel surfing, but she knew that he was actually more interested with her find. "Got anything to eat?"

"Table," was all he said. What she found was some bread and jam that was left there for her. It was blueberry jam, her favorite, so, he didn't forget after all.

"Thanks," Rin replied, and started to apply some jam to a piece of bread. She went to join him at the living room when she finished applying the jam on the bread and started nibbling on it. "So how is that you became a sensei anyway?" Kakashi rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"Is it really that difficult to see me as a sensei?" he asked, and she just nodded. He sighed. "Well, let's just say that the team with the right attitude finally came along."

"Really?" Rin asked, half nibbling and still finding it hard to believe. "I heard about the 2 boys, but the girl?"

"She's the brightest in the class. I find that her analytical skills are the best out of the 3 of them. She also seems to be talented in the area of Genjutsu." He replied her, all the while flipping the channels looking for something interesting to watch.

"I see, how are the missions so far?" Rin asked, and Kakashi proceeded to tell her about their first few missions, even the one involving Tazuna, to the Chunin exam, till now. "So their Chunins now?"

"Ah," Kakashi replied, then he changed the subject. "So, how was your trip? Found anything useful?"

"I think I found out a little too much," Rin replied very honestly. "I don't even know if I should continue to stay or quit and leave the village."

"Why? You are a great help to the ninjas in this village and I'm sure your team will help the Hokage in defending the village." He told her.

"Would I?" Rin asked sulkily. "After what I found out, I don't think it is such a good idea. Maybe I should just leave and live alone somewhere."

"That would have been a waste to all the training and effort that you have put in for so long." He tried to reason with her.

"I know, but somehow, that might seem safer for everyone." Rin said, and started to tell him about what she had found out on her trip. She didn't expect that she would have inherited a bloodline long thought to be wiped out. The clan of shinobi that specialized in the blood jutsu were all killed because some of them had great ambitions to take over the world, and it had frightened the other countries so much, that their village was destroyed in a massive attack by the ninjas of the other countries, and all those that scattered were hunted down and killed.

"Blood jutsu?" Kakashi asked her and tried to remember all that he had learnt about the different types of jutsu. "Doesn't sound very familiar."

"I think because it was a very old and forbidden jutsu." Rin said. "I think it was during the time of the first Hokage. The only reason why it was a very terrifying jutsu was because it controlled the victims blood, and they could freeze it, mutate it, change it into another substance or even reverse the flow of blood in a person's circulatory system." Kakashi raised an uncovered eyebrow, and was wondering just how it was that such a jutsu had come into being in the first place. She had discovered only ruins of that old village and amazingly, there was even a small shed that was left standing. It was overgrown with weeds and vines, but she had barely managed to see an outline of it, and she went to find a small shed with some gardening tools, which were totally rusted and unusable. It was all that she could find, and she had camped there a couple of days to see if there was anything else in the area. Unfortunately, she didn't find anything else, but that changed when she had chanced upon a secret passageway that led away from the shed.

The passageway was small and very well hidden. It had taken her almost a week to explore what had seemed to be endless tunnels that led to rooms. It was so big that it had almost looked like an underground mansion. There were many questions going through her mind as she went round from one room to the next. There weren't much there, but she had seen what had seemed to be a distant past, a family had most probably lived here for a time. In fact, it was big enough for several families to live in it. She had found another exit, and when she used it, she found herself at a beach, that had a dock to it as well. It was probably another escape route, no doubt. Cliffs surrounded the beach, and the only way to get here was either by boat or by the exit she had just used. Whoever it was, that lived in the tunnels, might have been waiting for a boat to come in and ferry them to another land.

"That is very interesting, and I'm sure that there is more to this than what you had just told me," Kakashi said, and he got up, stretched and yawned. "But, it is getting late, and I have classes tomorrow. Shall we continue this tomorrow?"

"Ok," Rin agreed and realized that getting tired too, especially when a yawn escaped her lips. "So, will I be having my old room back?"

"Yup, kept it dust free for you too," Kakashi said in a lazy manner. "Oyasumi."

"Oyasumi," Rin said to him, and walked towards her room. It was actually just as she had left it 2 years ago. Kakashi didn't touch anything, except pack some of her things into a neat corner. She put her bag down in the corner and took out some clothes and a towel from the closet and proceeded to have a bath. It was good to be back, and after a long soak, she went to her room and had the most wonderful sleep she's had since she left the village 2 years ago.

Author's Glossary:

On language:

This piece has quite a few Japanese words ( those that I understand anyway) so for those of you who are not familiar with it, below are a glossary of terms that are used in this fic. Please refer to them if you are unsure about their meanings. The words in bold are in Japanese and the underlined words are their rough English equivalents. However, I would assume that you already know what a sensei, jutsu, kunai, shuriken and shinobi are, if not, are you sure you're in the right section?

**Sugoi** Amazing

**Hai** Yes/Right (as in correct not the direction)

**Okaeri nasai** Welcome back/ welcome home

**Oyasumi** good night

**Hisashiburi** it's been a long time/Long time no see

**Itte Kimasu** I'm leaving (the house) now

**Oyako don** stewed chicken on rice

**Gomen** sorry

**Daijobu ka?** Are you ok?

**Daijobu** I'm ok/fine

**O ne chan** big sister

**Ano** erm

**Nani **What

**Doshite** Why

**So ka** I see

**O ni san** big brother

**Ya shou kun ohaiyo** Hi everybody, good morning.

**Yoroshiku** nice to meet you

**Morino san** Roughly equivalent to Mr. Morino

**Ja na!** bye then!


	3. My Friends

Author's Notes (Part 3): 

On reviews:

I would appreciate some reviews on this, coz I want to improve myself. ^_^  But if you are someone who does not like the idea of AU or original characters in a story then I would suggest that you NOT read this.  No flamers though, coz that just kills people's interest in writing.

When she woke up the next morning, it was way past breakfast.  She went to wash her face, and saw a note in the kitchen.  It was from Kakashi, he told her to finish the bread and go out and see the village.  He had also included information on where she could find her former teammates, and so that became her goal for the day.  Mayumi and Haruto were 2 of her oldest friends but it hadn't always started out that way.  During their student days, they were actually always competing with each other for the number one position in class.  It was even more appropriate to say that they were each other's rivals.  That was until they were put into the same group as Gennins.  They couldn't quite stand each other at first, and constantly got on each other's nerves, and even got into major fights.  It wasn't until their first major mission that they had gotten along better.  Not only that, they had gotten along so well, that they were well known for being able to beat even the most formidable teams.  Each one of them was actually a specialist in their own field, and somehow the communication that they had used, allowed them to effectively tackle other ninjas efficiently and effectively. Going through the Chunin exam was actually an easy task for them, since it hardly involved anything new that they hadn't done on other missions.

She had found Mayumi with a group of new academy graduates.  Like Kakashi, she was a Jounin and was given charge of a group of students.  This group seemed to be doing much better than when she had first started out.  All 3 of them seemed to get along just fine.

"Mayumi, hisashiburi," Rin said, as she entered the area that they were training, totally confusing the  students.

"Rin?!  Hisashiburi!  When did you get back?" Mayumi said, as she saw her friend approach.

"Yesterday," Rin said, and noticed Mayumi's students staring intently at her.  She knew that she was interrupting a lesson, so she was going to try to make this as short as possible.  "I was wondering if you would like to go for dinner tonight?  I'll try to get Haruto."

"Sounds good, I'll meet you at our usual place." Mayumi said.  "You do remember where it is, right?"  Rin nodded and said goodbye to her friend, before heading off to find her other partner.  That might be a little more difficult.  Haruto was someone who didn't have patience to teach anyone, and was more of a commanding officer.  He had chosen to join the Anbu just before she left and he had apparently managed to command a squad himself.  However, Rin wasn't worried about meeting him.  Her mind was more concentrated on the fact that she might meet another Anbu squad leader: Morino Ibiki.  Head of the torture and interrogation department.  Luckily for her, she had managed to get to see her friend without running into Ibiki.

"So, I see that the rumors this morning was true." Haruto said as he noticed her walking into his office.

"What rumors?" Rin asked innocently, "I haven't done anything wrong, have I?"

"Well, no," Haruto said, as he got up from his seat to greet her.  "What's up?"

"I'll just come straight to the point.  Dinner tonight, with Mayumi and me?" Rin asked him, and Haruto actually seemed to consider that for a while before answering.

"Yes," Haruto answered.  "Our usual place?"

"Yup," Rin said, and turned to leave.  It was good timing too, because as soon as she had left the area, Ibiki arrived for his shift, and she was in no condition to meet him today, Well, let's just say that she would have to prepare herself before she saw him again.  She went back to the apartment she shared with Kakashi and took a nice cold drink from the fridge, and went into her room.  She started flipping through her things, and came across an old diary of hers.  It was brown leather bound book that she had kept under lock and key.  She didn't bring this diary with her, because it contained so many memories that she couldn't deal with at that moment.  As she had neared the last few entries, she remembered what those last few months felt like.


	4. FB: Do you think I should?

She remembered being picked for the Jounin exam as a Chunin, and she had seriously doubted her ability to take the exam.  It was an exam that was more difficult than the Chunin exam, and she would be taking it alone.  Her teammates weren't picked for it, and she had wondered why.  She had always thought that they would be selected for the exam first, rather than her.  She remembered asking Kakashi whether or not she should take the exam.  Her brother had already taken the exam 2 years before that, and so since he probably knew her skill level, she asked him.

"I think you should trust your team leader's judgment," Kakashi told her, but Rin still doubted herself.

"But you know what my skills are like, I can't possibly be a candidate for the Jounin exam!" Rin protested.

"But that's only because you're seeing it from your own point of view, subjectively, not as a third person."  Kakashi was starting to get cryptic again.  It had annoyed her at times, especially when she couldn't get any answers to anything.  "You know, you're going to be late if you don't get going."

"Hai Hai.  I'm going, since I can't get any more answers from you anyway.  Itte kimasu," Rin said, as she left the apartment.  She went to the place where she was supposed to meet him, and discovered that he was already there.  

"Hi! Have you been waiting long?" Rin asked as she neared.

"Not really, barely managed to get off work too." Her date replied.

"That busy?  I thought you only need to do what you do if there are special cases?" Rin said, and gave him a kiss on the lips.

"Well, even if there are no special cases, there could always be ordinary cases that someone needs help with," He replied her.

"So, what have you got planned today, Ibiki?" Rin asked, and the Anbu squad leader just smiled at her and led her to another location.  Whatever he had planned, he definitely wasn't going to tell her… yet.  


	5. Reunion among friends

A loud bang that sounded out of nowhere, brought Rin back to the present. She looked at the clock and realized that it was almost 6:30pm. She must have dozed off, because she had remembered returning to the apartment at 4:30pm. She quickly went to freshen up and went to meet her friends, leaving a note for her brother that said "Meeting Mayumi and Haruto for dinner. See you after!"

Their usual meeting place was actually a cross roads for many people, Mayumi and Haruto were already there when she reached the area.

"You're late!" Mayumi told her, as she arrived.

"Hey, this place has changed a lot since I was last here, I didn't expect so many diversions, you know," Rin defended. Haruto just looked on at the 2 of them, not saying a word. There were only 2 reasons why he would do that: either he was very hungry, or he just couldn't be bothered. In this instance, it was the former.

"Will you 2 quit it? I'm starving!" Haruto announced to the 2 of them and started to walk of in the direction of a Donburi shop that they used to frequent. This shop was quite out of the way, and not many people come to this place, so they had no problems getting a booth seat. Mayumi and Rin took one side, while Haruto took the other side. They ordered their food and started sipping on tea while waiting for their food.

"So, how was your trip, find anything?" Mayumi asked her.

"I think I found out a little more than I could handle." Rin admitted. "I really don't know what I'm going to do now."

"Did you find out who your parents were?" Haruto asked, sipping tea.

"Yes, but there are still some things that I can't figure out. I even managed to find a diary of one of my mother's relations, but I haven't exactly read it yet." Rin said.

"Why?" Haruto pressed.

"Hey, I was really scared. Especially since my father was a ninja that specialized in a forbidden jutsu that has long since been forgotten. And my mother is a vampire! I would never have believed it if I hadn't seen the evidence for myself." Rin said.

"Which was?" Haruto asked.

"I saw her picture, I look exactly like her, and there was a note there… for me," Rin added.

"What? How could that be?" Mayumi asked her, not quite believing what she was hearing. "How could that letter still be there?"

"I think she knew that I would come looking for her, she left me a letter and a photograph. It was an old and creepy mansion that none of the locals ever dared to enter." Rin explained, as their food arrived. "They say that whoever goes in is never seen or heard of again. That's why they are afraid to go in."

"So was it as spooky as how they had described it?" Mayumi asked her, as Haruto took a bite out of his Gyu Don.

"Surprisingly, no, in fact, I felt so at peace when I went there. It was as if someone was welcoming me home. I never felt anything like that before and I knew that even if no other place wanted me, this was the one place that I could stay and call it home." Rin said, feeling a slight chill down her spine. The mansion that she spoke of was big enough to actually be called a palace. It didn't look like any traditional buildings in any of the villages. It was surrounded by a moat, with the only way to the place was via a bridge and what was apparently the front door. It would have been grand and stunning when it was first built, but now, it was a little shabby.

The hinges of the main door had rusted and was shut tight. She actually had to go in through one of the broken windows, once inside, she saw the biggest hall that she had ever seen in her entire life. It was huge! It could easily contain the entire Shinobi headquarters of Konoha. She could see, from the dim light, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was amazing, but her night vision had always been good, and her eyes adjusted to the dim light conditions almost immediately. There was a staircase that led to the upper levels of the mansion, and she took it. On the second level, were what seemed to be endless corridors, and an extensive number of rooms. Whoever had built this place must have been filthy rich. It was practically three times the size of the underground complex that she had been to in the Village of Earth. It had taken her months to actually finish exploring the entire mansion.

It was after a few days of exploring the house that she realized that this place once housed vampires. Lots of them too. It took her a couple of weeks to actually find what she was looking for. It was a room to the South that seemed to somehow attract her there. She opened the door and went in, it was a bedroom. The bed looked like it had been slept in and that whoever it was had left without packing it again. There was a dresser to one side of the room, with a mirror. She wondered why there were mirrors there, since vampires didn't really have reflections anyway, but it was there, nonetheless. On the dresser, was a hairbrush, and next to it was a photograph. In it was a man who was standing next to a woman, who was seated. They seemed to be the exact opposites of each other. Where the man had sharp features, the woman had much smaller and petite features that made her look somewhat like a child, or a very young woman. She didn't seem like she was any older than 18 or 19. The man on the other hand, looked like he was almost 30. He didn't have a beard or a moustache and his hair was cut really short, so much so that you would have thought him to be bald. She reached out to take the photograph from the table, and noticed that there was a letter just below it. It had her name on it, and she was slightly taken aback as to how her name could have been on that letter.

"So, what did the letter say?" Haruto asked her, he was almost finished with his donburi and was going for another round of tea.

"Well, it apparently my mother's name is Fiona, or that's what she had signed off as anyway." Rin said, and continued to take another chunk out of her Oyako Don. "She said that she was sorry for abandoning me, but she didn't have a choice. She asked me to forgive her, and that she hoped I would be happy with whatever I was going to do and to put my…ah… 'gifts' to good use."

"Did she say anything about your father?" Mayumi asked, finishing her food as well.

"Very little, I'm afraid." Rin said, and took a sip of tea. "But she did tell me where to get information on him, and that was quite useful. I had even managed to get my hands on a manual that talks about that jutsu."

"Hm? I thought you said that everything was destroyed?" Mayumi asked her.

"I thought so too, but apparently not, it was very well hidden and if that letter hadn't told me where to look, I would probably have just passed right by it." Rin told her friends, finishing her rice. The letter didn't exactly tell her that there was an underground complex either which made things seem a little overwhelming for her when she found out about it.

"So, what exactly has been bothering you then?" Haruto seemed to ask out the blue. "I'm sure you have returned to find the answer to your final question." Rin blinked at him. She had forgotten how he always had a knack of hitting the nail right on the head.

"Ah…I'm thinking of quitting as a shinobi." There, she said it. "Then I'll just live somewhere else, away from all of this, so that I can't hurt anyone anymore."

"What? How could you even think of such a thing?!" Mayumi wanted to knock some sense into her old friend. "Are you going to just throw all that you've learnt away?!" At this moment, Mayumi was making a ruckus and all those who were in the shop stopped their meal and stared at her. After a moment of silence from the entire shop, Mayumi realized what she had done, and Haruto decided that it was time for them to change locations. He paid the bill and the three of them hurriedly left in the direction of the central park. Not many people would be there at this time of the evening, so it was quite a safe place to go to discuss such things. Mayumi couldn't believe what she was hearing at all, but Haruto didn't seem to have so much trouble accepting it. Perhaps it was because he was partly expecting something like this to happen?

"I know it's hard to think of it, but this jutsu is really dangerous, and I don't want that kind of incident to happen again," Rin said, with enough determination to actually have Haruto slightly taken aback. The incident had happened over 2 years ago, and was what started Rin's quest for her past in the first place. Not many people even remember it any more, but that obviously wasn't the case with Rin.

"Rin, it isn't your fault, you had no idea that something like that could happen." Haruto tried to advise her.

"Yea, besides, if anyone of us had known about your abilities, I'm sure that Hokage would have done something already." Mayumi added. They were seated on swings, while Haruto just leaned on the beam that is part of the main structure for the swing.

"You don't know that," Rin countered." It's such an old technique, it has probably already been forgotten by time if it wasn't because of the appearance of a freak like me…"

"Hey, you are NOT a freak, ok? You are human who knows what it's like to he happy, to be sad, and what's it like to be loved." Mayumi told her.

"I don't even know if I AM human!" Rin was still very upset about this. "What if I'm not? What will happen if I turn into a vampire like my mother? Will I have to go around drinking blood just to survive?"

"Rin…"Mayumi didn't quite know what to say, except that she was certain that there has to be a way to control her abilities, and used them for the purpose of good. "If the shinobi of that time could have trained that ability and used it to fight against other factions that wanted to use it for evil, then there must be a way to overcome it. I know there must be…" There was a long pause, as everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. The reunion hadn't quite turned out how she had wanted it to.

"What about Ibiki? You're not going to avoid him forever, are you?" Haruto said, and Rin practically froze. Ever since Haruto had transferred to the Anbu, he had slowly come to know the man who was in charge of the torture and interrogation squad. Morino Ibiki may look intimidating to many, and many would believe that it would be impossible to think of him as someone who may care for another person, but he does. "Not even going to say goodbye?"

"I don't know how I can possibly face him again," Rin admitted. "I suppose you could say that that was the most difficult answer for me to find out. I don't know how I'm going to tell him about all of this."

"But Rin, he loves you, you know that, don't you?" Mayumi asked her.

"Not anymore, especially not after what I've done." Rin retorted.

"I think you'd better talk to him before you make that decision," Haruto warned her, and she turned to look at him in surprise, but Haruto wouldn't explain any further. It was infuriating! Haruto obviously knows something, but being the person that he is, he has no wish whatsoever to be involved in anyone's personal matters.

"Haruto…" Rin whispered. "It's not like as if I don't have any feelings for him… I just don't know how I'm going to face him again."

"Whatever it is, I really think that you should talk to him," Haruto told her in total honesty. "No matter what the answer is."

"I'll try," that was all she could promise him.


	6. News

It was a couple of days later that Rin went to see Hokage. He had sent word that he had wanted to discuss her current situation, and so she went, since she hadn't anything much to do anyway. It was evening when she reached there, he was already waiting for her.

"Rin, I'll get straight to the point." Hokage told her the moment they met. "How have you been adjusting to the life here again?"

"It's alright," Rin said. "I am getting more familiar with the changes that have taken place in the last 2 years."

"Good, I have some news for you as well," Hokage said, and handed her a book.

"What is it?" Rin asked, as she took it from him. The book was A5 sized, and when she opened it, it was empty.

"Rin, use your chakra on it," Hokage ordered, and Rin did as she was told, though she still seemed a little doubtful. As soon as her chakra touched the book, it seemed to glow a little, and absorb the energy that was given to it, then, words starting appearing on it, and before she knew it, she could even hear voices coming from it. Frightened, she dropped the book, but it soon levitated itself towards her, and its pages opened itself to her. Within it, she read the history of what had happened to the Hidden Village that used blood jutsu. As soon as the scenario was over, the book closed and dropped to the floor with an audible thud. She just stared at the Hokage, searching for an answer.

"It was an old book in the library. It had been a book that was written about the time of the first Hokage." The shinobi leader explained. "No one had been able to see what it contained, until now."

"But how did it get here?" Rin asked him.

"The records said that when the Hidden Village was destroyed, there were a few who had preserved some of the books that were in the Village's main library. Some had wanted to be able to duplicate, or even use that type of jutsu, but no one outside the village had ever succeeded. That was why, even though it is called a jutsu, it is in reality an advanced bloodline." Hokage started to explain. "That's not all, we had tried to find out why all the Shinobi there seemed to be able to use the jutsu, and according to our records, ALL of them, have had certain of their genes changed."

"Changed?" Rin echoed, and she feared that she was about to have another information overload.

"Exactly," Hokage told her, and went to pick up the fallen book. "We had also found teeth marks on the bodies…" Rin didn't quite seem to understand where this was going. "They were all bitten by Vampires, or have been before."

"What?!" Rin couldn't' believe what she was hearing! "You mean to say that all the Shinobi there allowed themselves to be bitten by Vampires just to use that kind of jutsu??" At his nod, she shouted that it was impossible for something like that to happen.

"Listen to me, Rin," Hokage said, and tried to calm her down. "It is not only likely, it is also entirely possible. Orochimaru also uses the vampiric technique to control people. We have found that there was a Vampire's stronghold near the current Village of Lightning. But they have fled so quickly, that no one really knows if they are truly gone for good, or still hiding amongst us."

"So what has that got to do with me?" Rin asked him plainly, she was too numbed by all the information to actually try to figure things out for herself.

"You are the only one who is linked to the past. Your presence here means that the theory of these ninjas being completely eliminated is incorrect." Hokage told her, putting the book back on the table. "They have to be eliminated, according to the agreement between all the countries." Rin took a couple of steps back. Does this mean that he was going…to…kill her, now?!

"However, from what you've found out, you aren't exactly one of those ninjas, since you don't have the marks to show that you've been changed," Hokage said. "But being the daughter of a Vampire doesn't make you a full human either."

"So, now what?" Rin asked him. Part of her wished to die, so that everything, all the pain and suffering would end. But the other part of her desperately wanted to cling on to survival. This was all too weird.

"Now, it would seem that your identity may be exposed, and that there may be more people after you than you think." Hokage warned her. "But this is the main reason I have asked you here. Have you decided if you want to stay or not?" Rin looked down at her feet, and just shook her head. The Hokage sighed. "I thought as much." Was all he said, and took a seat behind his table that held a crystal ball.

"What do you suggest?" Rin asked him, after a while.

"Until your decision is made, all I can ask is for you to be on your guard." Hokage answered. "but if you want to stay, then there are some things that I want to instruct you on myself."

"I have already learnt how to control these abilities," Rin protested.

"No, Rin, you have only learnt the basics of these techniques. In order to advance to the higher levels, there are some other things that you will have to know about. Come and see me after you have decided, but don't take too long." He dismissed her, and Rin was totally dazed by the revelation. She didn't even know where she was headed until it was too late. The next thing she knew, Ibiki and 2 of his colleagues were standing in front of her. She looked up only after she realized that there were eyes on her, and was shocked to find him standing in front of her. There were so many things that she wanted to say to him, and yet words seemed to fail her so she just stood there, staring. Ibiki wasn't expecting to see her either, and for one of the few times in his life, he was at a loss of what to do. However, his face was as impassive as ever, not letting a single emotion show, while his 2 colleagues who didn't know who she was, and what was going on, asked what it was that she wanted. It took her quite a while before she managed to find her voice.

"Gomen," was all that would come out from her lips, and she turned and fled.

"Rin!" Ibiki started to say, but she was gone, so he went on his way. His 2 colleagues didn't quite know who she was, but seeing Ibiki in such a state was enough to get them more than a little worried. On the way to their destination, thoughts and memories that had been buried 2 years ago surfaced. So, those rumors that a lost Shinobi was back, had been her after all. After 2 long years, she was finally back. Damn it! How was he ever going to tell her…?

"Ibiki," One of his colleagues snapped him out of his thoughts. Both of them had worried looks on their faces. They have never seen him like this before, and it was VERY unnerving. "Daijobu ka?"

"Er… Ah… daijobu. Let's go," Ibiki told them, they still didn't seem quite reassured, but left it at that anyway, and continued on their way to their office.


	7. Who are you?

'**He saw me! Oh gods, how could I have been so careless?!**' Rin thought, as she fled the scene, her vision blurring.  When she was quite sure that he wasn't following, she stopped and stood there for a while, shaking.  Looking up, she found herself at a part of town that she didn't quite recognize.  But it didn't matter, so long as no one was there to bother her.  She could be alone for a while.  She NEEDED to be alone, for a while.

"O ne chan, daijobuka?" she heard a childlike voice ask her, and she looked up.  She saw a blond kid, looking at her, he was wearing an orange colored jacket and matching pants.

"No, I'm not," Rin replied honestly.  Now where had she seen him before…?  "What are you doing here so late at night?"

"My apartment is over there, and I was training some of my jutsu when I saw you out here, and I thought that you might need some help." The boy told her.  He didn't seem to be lying about it either.

"I see, well, thank you for coming, my name is Rin," Rin introduced herself.  "What about you?"

"Me?  I'm Uzumaki Naruto!  I'm going to be the greatest Hokage ever!" Rin was slightly taken aback at his tone of voice, but smiled nonetheless.  "That's why I have to keep on training, you see.  Besides, I don't want to lose to Sasuke anymore!"

"Oh, I see, you're Kakashi's students, right?" Rin suddenly remembered seeing him training under her brother on the day that she had returned to the village.  Naruto turned to her, and just looked blank, wondering how she had gotten to know that he was under Kakashi.  "That's my secret.  I can't tell you."

"Ah, ano… what are you doing here?" Naruto asked, and the words of the Hokage seemed to float back to her. 

"I guess I just don't know if I should be a ninja anymore," Rin said, and Naruto was totally shocked at the answer.

"NANI?!?!  Doshite?" Naruto practically shouted.  Perhaps talking about such private things with this kid wasn't such a good idea after all…

"I guess I just don't fit in anymore…" Rin admitted.  "Perhaps it is because I'm so different from everyone else, or that I may have something that others don't, and that they might be envious, or something."

"Then just make yourself fit in!" Naruto said, as if that it were such a simple thing.  

"How?  I think of all people, you will know what it feels like to have people look at you like you are some kind of unwanted junk." Rin said, and Naruto knew only too well what she was talking about.  "I hate that!"

"But running away isn't going to solve your problem." Naruto advised, and Rin raised an eyebrow.  "I tried, it didn't work.  In fact, it only got worse!  That's why I'm training to be the Hokage!  You can't just back down because they think you don't fit into their culture!  Who cares about them?  I have my own way of ninja, and I'll always live by it, no matter what other people say!"

"Eh?" Rin was very taken aback by what this boy had said.  Obviously, he had been thinking about this for a long time.  Then again, he probably didn't have as much support as she did, and to be able to stand up for yourself, even amongst people who don't seem to care if you live or die, sugoi.  "I can see why you are such a well known person in this village!"

"Eh?  You mean people actually talk about me?" Naruto was excited at the concept that someone might actually be talking about him, it didn't matter if it was good or bad.  "Ne, ne, what do they say?"

"You want to know?" at Naruto's enthusiastic nod, she continued.  "Then I guess you'd better use your information gathering skills and find out, eh?"  

"Ah?" Naruto was disappointed that she didn't tell him what people say.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find out about it!  I've got to go, it's getting late." Rin said, and thanked him, before heading back to the apartment, where she found Kakashi waiting for her.

"How'd it go?" Kakashi asked her as soon as stepped through the door.  She had left a note saying where she had gone, so he was probably worried about what the Hokage might have said, though outwardly he didn't seem in the least concerned.   

"Well, let's just say that there might be people after my life, and the Hokage wants to know if I'm going to stay or not before he teaches me some high level jutsu, or so he says." Rin explained.

"Who are these people?" Kakashi asked her.  "What do they want with you?" 

"I think it's more of the jutsu that I supposedly have the ability to use.  Hokage sama thinks that there may be people out there who know about my background and maybe after me for various reasons," Rin said.  "Though there were no outward signs that anyone is, he has still warned me to be careful."

"So ka?" Kakashi said, almost to himself.  "So, have you decided what you are going to do now?"

"Not yet, but I think that I'll get my answer after tonight," Rin said, and wished him goodnight.  She went to take a shower, and went to her room to think things through.


	8. FB: What happened back there?

"What happened?" The Hokage asked her for what could have been the 20th thousandth time already.

"I don't remember!" Rin insisted.  "I already told you!  I knew that the other candidates surrounded me, and that they were trying to get rid of me.  Someone caught me from behind.  I tried to use my kunai to attack him, but it didn't work.  I saw someone else come at me from the front, and I threw my kunai towards him and I think it nicked his jugular.  I felt the blood splatter on my face and the next thing I knew, I was here!"  She was getting frustrated.  She was being interrogated, again, and again, and again, and again.  No one had told her what had happened that made her deserve an interrogation like this.  In fact, she had only been conscious for 4 hours and the questioning was relentless.  Now she felt what it was like to be the one that was interrogated.  Of course, the fact that Hokage himself was interrogating her, meant that this was something big.  

The Hokage sighed and turned to leave the room.  He muttered something to the guards outside, and the door closed.  Guards?  Why are there guards out there?  What happened?  There was a knock on the door, sometime later, and someone came in.

"Oni san, what happened?  Why is the Hokage questioning me like that?  What about the exam?  What's going on?" Kakashi looked like he always did, unimpressed, and that was something that was getting on her nerves now, considering that what happened had the Hokage interrogating her from the moment she woke up.  He took a seat next to her bed before continuing.

"You mean you really don't know?" Kakashi asked, and Rin shook her head.  She NEVER lied about anything to her brother, and she didn't intend to start now.  "All the Jounin candidates were found dead.  You are the only survivor."

"Huh?" Rin was confused.  "How could that possibly be?  There was no way that ALL the candidates could be dead?!"

"That's why the Hokage has been asking you all these questions.  The other countries are wanting to know what has happened to their elites." Kakashi told her.

"How long have I been unconscious?" Rin asked him.

"Almost a week," came the reply, and Rin didn't know what do or say, and could only look confused.  

"But I was quite sure that I didn't meet ALL the candidates at that spot.  There must have been someone who survived, right??" Rin was getting a little desperate.  Kakashi just shook his head.

"We have searched the whole village, there aren't any," Kakashi told her.  "But the strange thing is about how they died."

""Huh?" What did he mean by how they died?

"They were either drained of blood or they had bled out.  There were also those that were ripped to shreds.  There were also some that were a little…different from what they once were." Kakashi tried to tell her calmly, but somehow, Rin was feeling anything but calm.  "When we had found out about it, 2 Anbu squads were dispatched."

"What happened to them, the Anbu?" Rin was afraid to ask.

"Half of them are dead.  The other half are still fighting for their lives." Kakashi said, and Rin felt her heart sink to the floor.  How could this have happened?  

"What kind of monster could have caused this?"  Kakashi had seemed very reluctant to reply, but Rin insisted.  "Tell me!"

"From what some of them could tell, you did." Rin's eyes immediately widened with shock.  

"But how is it that I don't remember?  If I had slaughtered them, then I would have known!  I would have remembered!" Rin was on the verge of tears.  How could she possibly have done such a thing?  She knew most of the shinobi here, and would do nothing to hurt any of them.  Not now, not ever!  "But… why can't I remember?!"  She shouted, but there was no answer.  No one could answer that, except for her.  But as if it were not bad enough, the next piece of news made her feel like killing herself there and then.

"Ibiki was leading one of the teams…" Rin stared at her brother, challenging the truth of his statement.  "He managed to stop you, or so they say, but not before he attained some serious injury."

"Liar!  That can't be true!" Rin said, and the first of many hot tears started to escape her eyes.  "That can't…be…true."

"I'm sorry, Rin," Kakashi said, trying his best to sound empathic.  "But I'm only telling you this because we need to find out what happened."

"I don't remember… I don't remember!  I DON'T REMEMBER!" She shouted at her brother while she sobbed.  He tried to comfort her, by hugging her, but it only seemed to make things worse.  It took what had seemed to be hours, before she could finally calmed down a little.  "Where is he?" Rin asked her brother.

"In the intensive care unit.  He's one of the last few who has yet to wake up from the coma." That statement just made Rin feel even worse, and she wanted desperately to go to him.  She would have insisted on seeing him, but she knew that she was probably under watch by the Hokage and whatever Anbu was available for prisoner duty, which would have made it impossible for her to even get out of bed without anyone knowing.  It was only after she had no more tears left, that she asked Kakashi to leave.

"Are you sure?" he asked her.  "Rin?"

"I need to be alone," Rin said, and turned to face the window.  Kakashi took that as a definite sign that he had to leave, and headed towards the door.  "Oni san, arigatou…"  Kakashi nodded and left.  Rin could only crumble back onto the bed and sobbed miserably.


	9. Rin sensei

Rin was wondering why her brother had called her to go out with his team of students today.  He had said that he needed her help in training one of his students, and so she agreed.  But it had been so long since she had guided any newbies that she was wondering if she was still up to it.  He had said that it was something that he wasn't able to coach her in, so he would need her help to do it.  So, it was the female student.  What was her name again…Sakura?  Yes, that was probably it, but still, she had never heard of Jounin asking another Jounin for help to teach their students.  Perhaps it was supposed to be another way to persuade her to stay…?

"Ya, shou kun, ohaiyo…" Kakashi greeted his students, and was told off by them that he was late.

"What time did you ask to meet them?" Rin asked him.

"7 am," Kakashi replied very calmly, and Rin could only sigh.  She knew that her brother had a terrible sense of timing, and he probably always will.

"Huh?  O ne chan, why are you here?" Naruto asked her, and she answered him with a smile.

"What do you think?" Rin said, but Naruto was still confused.

"She's here to help me with something," Kakashi interrupted and turned to face her.  "Want to introduce yourself?"

"Ok.  I'm Hatake Rin.  Your sensei's younger sister.  Yoroshiku." Rin introduced.

"Eh?" All of them said at once.  "Sensei, since when did you have a sister?" Naruto ventured.

"Since a very long time ago," was all that he was going to say.  "Anyway, for today's lesson, we will be doing some rather specialized things.  Which is why I've asked Rin to help me."  The students still looked confused.

"Help you with what?" Sakura asked.

"I need her to teach you some specialized assassination techniques," Kakashi said, and Rin raised an eyebrow at him.

"But why can't you teach me those techniques?  Why will we have to be separated?" Sakura demanded to know, while 'Inner Sakura' said that there was no way in hell that she would be separated from Sasuke.

"Because… these are specialized techniques that only female nins learn to use." Kakashi explained.

"Sakura, all will be clear when I actually tell you what it is, trust me." Rin said, and with that Kakashi led the 2 male students to another location, while Sakura could only look despondently at being left behind. 

"So…sensei?" Sakura started.  "What are we going to do now?"

"First of all, don't call me sensei, I'm just Rin," at Sakura's nod, she continued.  "How's your history?"

"Eh?" Sakura was confused at the sudden change of topics.  Is this going to be one of those boring history lessons again?  She remembered when Iruka sensei was giving them at the Academy and she had barely managed to keep awake for them.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to be giving you a lecture on the history of the Shinobi," Rin reassured her.

"Then why are you asking?" Sakura asked her.

"Because, it has some facts about how a female nin operates, and it will probably be useful to you too." Rin told her, and led her to the town's shopping district.

"Why are we here?" Sakura asked her.

"It's your objective for today!  I want you to observe me, and see if you can spot me using and hand seals and jutsu, while we go shopping." Rin told her.

"What?  Shopping?" Sakura was confused.  'Is she more crazy then Kakashi sensei or what' Inner Sakura commented.

"Exactly," Rin said.  "Oh, and by the way, try to follow the real me.  I'll be waiting for you at the Ramen stall down by the North side of town, block 63, at 12:30 pm, ok?"

"Follow the real you?" Sakura was still dazed when Rin took her into the heart of the shopping district and started to window shop.  Sakura noticed that she had actually bought very little things, but in the crowded streets, it was easy to get lost, and she had almost lost her a couple of times, but had managed to find her again.  It was 12:30 and Sakura's stomach growled a little indicating what time it was.

"Eh?" Sakura looked up and saw Rin, wait a minute, it wasn't Rin, it was… it was…a kawarimi…?

What she saw instead, was a cute little cat, staring intently at her.  "How did I…where is she?"  Sakura then remembered the instructions and went to the pre-arranged location to meet up with Rin.  When she got there, Rin was waiting for her.

"So, how was it?" Rin asked her.  "How about discussing it over lunch?"  Sakura was at this moment, a little hungry, angry and tired to actually argue with her.  It was a small shop that only had counter seats.  They seated themselves and ordered their food.  Halfway through the meal, Rin asked her.

"Sakura, do you even know why you were asked to do this exercise with me?" Rin asked her.

"Well, no," Sakura replied honestly.  "I mean, I understand that ninjas have to be good at camouflage and all that, but why are we in the streets, shouldn't we be doing something else?"

"I know exactly how you feel," Rin sympathized.  "I was just as confused when my sensei got another female instructor to teach us about such things.  I couldn't understand why we had to go shopping!"

"So why are we?" Sakura asked her.

"Ah…you see, the objective of this exercise is to teach you that even when you are walking the streets that you think are safe, spies are everywhere.  There are probably people out there that are so well disguised that you don't even realize they're there." Rin told her.  "So, what are the jutsu that I've used today?"

"Jutsu?" Sakura asked her, all the while thinking about the time she had spent out in the streets with her.  "I guess you must have used the replacement technique, but that was about it."  Rin took a slurp of her noodles, and Sakura did the same.

"Yes, but did you see when I used it?" Rin asked, and Sakura tried to think back again, but only came up blank.

"Did you remember when I bought the makeup?" Rin hinted.  "Try to remember the scene of me bargaining with the owner.  Sakura closed her eyes and tried to remember what she had seen.  They had stopped at a shop that sold make up, and Rin was not only trying on colors for her, but also bargaining with the shopkeeper about the price of the makeup. 

"Ah!  I see!  You made the hand seals while you were bargaining the price!  I remember you taking up the compact powder and then… and then…"

"Exactly," Rin said.  "You see, female nins can sometimes be sent on some rather dangerous missions on their own.  We don't exactly have the strength that the guys have, but we can still overcome that, with subtlety.  Imagine this scenario.  You are sent to a town to assassinate the Lord that resides there.  The lord already knows that people are after his life, and has already stepped up his guard.  The only possibility to complete the mission would be to send someone in alone."

"Hmmm….." Sakura seemed thoughtful on that scenario.

"Let's say that he is someone who needs female company and the best way to kill him is in his private chambers.  As a female nin sent in alone, you must remember that you don't have anyone to back you up, and the people whom the Lord has hired is probably already on the lookout for ninjas.  Using your jutsu openly would only endanger your life, so, by learning how to incorporate hand seals into your daily movements, is very important." Rin explained.

"Hand seals in your daily life?" Sakura echoed and her eyes widened suddenly, seemingly making sense of it all.  "Does that mean that the biggest subtlety that a female nin has in these situations is to be able to use jutsu without anyone knowing that you've used them, even among other ninjas?"

"Exactly!" Rin exclaimed, smiling.  "My brother had said that you were really bright, now I know why."  Sakura flushed a little with pride.  So, Kakashi sensei HAD been impressed by her analytical ability, though he hasn't said a word.  "Ok, ready for your next lesson?"

"Huh? There's more?" Sakura asked, after they had finished their meal.

"Of course!  Much more!" Rin said.  "Shall we go?"

"Hai!" Sakura said, and left the little shop with Rin.

"Ne, Rin san," Sakura started to say.  "How is it that you know so much about these things?"

"You mean the subtle hand seal usage?" At Sakura's nod, she continued.  "I used to be from the Anbu assassination squad Division 5."

"Sugoi!" Sakura admired.  "You must be really experienced then, huh?"

"You could say that." Rin answered.

"Are you still there now?" Sakura asked.

"No, you see, due to some circumstances, I've had to leave the Village.  I was only back last week," Rin told her, and wondered what was it with talking to kids about her problems anyway?  "I was away for 2 years."

"I see," Sakura seemed like she had something to say, but hesitated.  So, Rin just went on ahead, while Sakura followed.  At the end of the day, Rin brought Sakura to the meeting place that her brother had told her to meet before Sakura could be dismissed.  Kakashi was in charge after all, and where Sakura was concerned, he still gave the orders.  She went there late, knowing her brother's sense of time, and found him waiting there, surprisingly enough.  She had told Sakura to get used to the idea of wearing makeup, and so as a first lesson, actually made her wear some lipstick, light eye shadow and blush when they went to meet up with Kakashi's group.  It was amazing to see the look of surprise on the face of all the boys, including her brother.  Rin couldn't help but laugh, and Sakura joined in too.  She had never seen Sasuke stunned like the way he was now.


	10. Time out

For the next few weeks, Kakashi had asked Rin to continue training Sakura in assassination skills.  All the while, Rin was still thinking about how she should solve her problem.  Perhaps teaching the new students had been a good move.  It gave her a reason to want to stay, to get to know them, as she had once did, before she left.  It took her a month and a half to reply the question that the Hokage had posed to her, about whether or not she had wanted to stay.  She knew, that everything was becoming clear, she could stay, and still contribute to this community effectively.  However, it was now her heart that seemed to be turning in the other direction.

"Rin, so have you decided how you are going to solve this thing with Ibiki?" Mayumi asked her. 

"Well, not really," Rin said.  "It still feels awkward talking to him."

"That, coming from you, is definitely something big." Mayumi told her.  This was one of the days where she didn't have to help train Sakura, and Mayumi had happened to be free.  "Especially since you've dated him for 3 years prior to leaving 2 years ago."

"I guess, but I really don't know how to approach him anymore," Rin said.  "I guess those 2 years have really made a difference, huh?"  

"I suppose, but since he already knows you're back, you really should at least try to speak to him, you know," Mayumi advised.

"But how?" Rin said, and was getting frustrated.  "What should I say?  You don't expect me to go up to him and say something like: 'Hey, nice to see you again, shall we get on from where we left off'?"

"Of course not, but there must be something that you can do…" Mayumi asked again, and Rin took a sip of tea.  She had come to Mayumi's apartment, and they were having tea.

"You know, the anniversary of when we started seeing each other is coming soon." Rin said unexpectedly, that Mayumi was caught off guard, and almost chocked on her tea.  "Odd, I don't know why it is affecting me so much this time.  It hadn't been like this when I was away…"  


	11. FB: First meeting

It could be said that they were not a couple that people would normally think of as being together.  Rin was one of the popular girls in her class, and there were even some senpais who were asking about her.  Gai had been one of them, being her brother's long time rival, it was odd to have him trying to win her favor.

"Gai, I don't mean to be rude, but I really don't want to date you," Rin told him rather frankly.  "Besides, I'm Kakashi's sister.  Why would you want to date me?"

"Well, since I'm dating you and not Kakashi, what has Kakashi got to do with any of it?" Gai said, Rin had went through this conversation with him so many times, that she had lost count.  So, she had found that one of the best things to do, was to ignore him and walk away, which was what she did, at that moment.  She had already become a Chunin, and she was still assigned to one sensei together with the rest of her team.  Rin hadn't been someone who had liked the idea of going for exams, but then again, she felt that she couldn't let any of her friends down, so she went.  She had been on and off missions with the rest of her team for about 7 years, and at times, she found herself going nowhere.

"So you're going to transfer us to the Anbu assassination squad division 5?" Mayumi asked their sensei.  "But why?"

"Because, it is about time you guys specialized in something, and I dare say, that you are the best, when it comes to this.  Which is why I have already spoken to the head of that squad, and she has agreed to take you in." Their Jounin sensei told them.  That was the end of that.  Their sensei, unfortunately, wasn't someone who liked the idea of people second-guessing him, so they reluctantly agreed.  It was only a couple of months later, when Mayumi was transferred to the Academy as a teacher for the Academy undergrads.  Haruto was transferred to another section of the Anbu team that specifically hunted down missing nin.

To Rin, that was a really troubling period for her.  Although she had found other Chunins that she could talk to, she was still a little sad to see her friends go, but she knew that they weren't happy in the assassination team, so she was also kind of glad that they had left.  It was at about this time that the Torture and Interrogation squad gained a new leader.  His predecessor had retired and had actually hand picked and trained him for the position.  He had also just made the rank of Specialized Jounin.  Morino Ibiki was someone many had come to know as a sadist; a man of few words, and a hardened heart.  He was feared everywhere he went.  Of course, the only people that didn't really fear him, was his former teammates and classmates, which was three years ahead of Rin, so she didn't know any of them that well.    

One thing about being in the Anbu that many nins don't like, was probably the idea of not being able to go out on missions regularly like the other shinobi.  Rin had always been one who had performed better at night duties, so she was put almost permanently on the night shift.  The main office of the Anbu was at times a little crowded, but it was cozy.  Her division was sectioned off into 3 shifts.  Each with a Chunin in charge, and the Jounin in charge of the entire division, is usually here on and off.  She had only seen her only once or twice, but there were always regular meetings on the second day of every month.  

"Rin, will you be okay with this arrangement?" her Jounin leader asked her.

"Yes, that's fine." Rin answered.  It was regarding her new assignment.  She was going to be on permanent night shift from now on.  The Hokage suspects a spy among the Anbu, and her squad was in charge of discovering who it is.  She had wondered why it had to be her squad to do it, since the Hokage had other internal policing squads, but then again, if he had suspected one of them of being a spy, then it would explain quite a lot.

"Ok, we start tonight, I want a report at the end of every shift.  Dismissed." Fukada Toko was one of the specialized Jounin among the Anbu.  She was said to have been on over 5 thousand assassination missions, and was given this position 8 years ago, when the squad leader died during a mission.  She was someone who had a lot of talent in this area, and was very strict in the codes of conduct and also particular about how certain things should be carried out.  Other than that, she was really a fun loving gal that could really surprise you.

Rin returned that very night to start her duty.  Information gathering techniques actually hadn't been her best skill, but she had learnt to get better over the years, and this was going to be one of those missions that was going to test that to the limit.

"Hi! Rin!" Toko greeted as she stepped into the office.

"Argh!"  It was so unexpected that Rin practically had a heart attack!  "Toko, you really shouldn't do something like that!  I almost died!"  Her leader gave her one of her best smiles.

"You know Rin, sometimes you are really out of it," Toko commented then stretched and yawned.  "Oh well, I should be going!  See you tomorrow!"  With that she left, leaving Rin alone with another member of the squad.  Her first night was pretty slow, and she remembered she hadn't gathered much information.  2 weeks passed and she still hadn't gotten much information.  The only thing she was familiar with, was the time that each squad section came to take the place of the previous shift.  That was practically the first time that she had seen Ibiki, who it seemed, was almost permanently on night shift as well.

"Come in," Rin responded to a knock on her door.  It was almost 3 am, and she had no idea who would still be around at this time.  Most squads had worked on a 24:7 call, rather than actually work time, but Toko had always thought that having some members at the office ensured a greater response time, so she stuck to it.

"Sorry to bother you, but I need some information," came the unfamiliar voice at the door, and Rin turned to look.

"What kind of information, Morino san?" Rin asked him as formally and calmly as possible.

"I need the details that you have on a particular ninja." He replied, all the while maintaining eye contact with her.

"Name?" Rin asked, and 'Kibame Arazu' was the prompt reply.  "Please, come in," Rin invited him to take a seat while she searched for the file that he requested.  She wasn't someone who was that good at database searches, but she wasn't the worst either.  Even though she had tried her best to get the information as fast as possible, she could still feel his eyes on her.  It was unnerving.  It was like as if he was sizing her up for something, and Rin was almost unable to continue with the search.

"Are you new here?" he asked her, and she turned to look at him.  Was he trying to make conversation, or was she just imagining things?

"Kind of," Rin replied.  "I've only been here about 5 months.  Why?"

"No, it's just that I haven't seen you around before," Ibiki told her.  "Night shift?"

"Yup," Rin answered, as the database found what she was searching for, and the printer went off.  "There you go.  I hope it helps."

"Thanks," Ibiki took the pages from her, and started to leave.  "Oh, yes, don't call me Morino san.  Just call me Ibiki."  He turned and told her smiling.  Rin almost stopped breathing.  "What's your name?"

"Rin. Hatake Rin," she replied almost instantly to his question.

"Ja na, Rin san." Was all he said, and left, politely closing the door behind him.  

'**He smiled…**?' Rin started thinking.  '**The sadist actually smiled?!  Oh my god**!'  It was amazing to her, but she had soon come to know him as well.  He had taken the night shift because there were just too many other things that needed his attention during the day.  The office of the Torture and Interrogation squad was actually down the hall, and one would have to pass by it on the way in or out.  She had always wondered why their office was the first one, maybe it was just to intimidate others and to keep them in line.  Then again, who knows? 

"Ibiki?  Don't you ever sleep?" she remembered asking him one day.

"Of course I do, it's just that you don't see it, that's all.  Why?" Ibiki wasn't expecting such a weird question.

"Because you look really tired sometimes…" Rin started to say.  "Wanna get some breakfast?"

"Huh?" Ibiki had never been asked out for any meal, and not by anyone from another department anyway.

"Breakfast.  The first meal of the day?  You know, that work is still going to be there even after you come back from breakfast…" Rin told him.

"Ok, fine, I hardly say this, but you win.  Let's go." That was one of the first few times that Rin had ever manage to spend with him outside the office.  So the days turn to weeks and the weeks to months and before she knew it, she had been in the division for almost a year.  She had also gotten to know more of the Specialized Jounin that work here.  Some of them, she'd never even heard of, but it was always fun to know more, I guess.


	12. I don't know if I should tell him

"Ano…" Sakura said, breaking Rin out of her thoughts.

"Hm…? Rin asked.  "What is it?"

"No… nothing," Sakura said, and turned back to her tea.  She had been training her in some of the more finer points of the assassination techniques, and since Kakashi hadn't put a dateline on the completion date for the techniques, Rin could go at a pace that was comfortable for her and Sakura.  She deemed that Sakura has had just about enough for today, and so decided to stop early.

"Sakura, what's bothering you?  You seem to have something to say, but you don't say what it is," Rin tried to coax her.  "You know, sometimes talking does help."

"Um…" Sakura still seemed a little reluctant to say, but decided to confide in her anyway.  "Would you ever tell someone that you like your true feelings?"

"Hmm…" Rin said, putting her hand to her chin.  "I don't know, because the last time something like that happened to me, we didn't say anything, we both just felt it."

"Felt it?" Sakura was getting curious.  "What do you mean?"  Rin started to smile to herself, and continued.

"You see, I know someone, who used to work for the Anbu as well, he's still there, I think," Rin started, and Sakura leaned in further to listen.

"From the same squad?" the younger girl asked, but Rin shook her head.

"He was from another department.  You see, he might not have been a really popular guy, but when you get to know him, he's actually nice," Rin said, getting more than a little dreamy.  "I don't even remember when I had decided that I liked him."

"I remember when I started to like Sasuke kun," Sakura told her.  "I'll never forget it."

"What about Naruto?" Rin asked her, and Sakura gave her an 'are you kidding?' look.  "I heard that even Gai's student is interested in you."

"Huh?  Geez, I don't think I like him in that way." Sakura added.  "I think I respect him more than I did when I first met him, but nothing more, I guess."

"Don't be too sure," Rin told her.

"Why not?" Sakura asked her.

"Because the man I dated for 3 years definitely wasn't my number one choice, if you know what I mean." Rin hinted to her.

"You mean you had a crush on someone else?" Sakura asked, hoping that perhaps she would understand her position.  

"No, but I would never have imagined myself dating someone like him." Rin replied honestly.  "I can just imagine feeling like that when I was your age.  You know, no matter what anyone says about ninjas being cold blooded killers, that is definitely not true," Rin told her.  "Coz we still have feelings like any other human being."

"I see," Sakura said to her.  "But would you have told him how you feel?"

"I don't think so, not unless under some unforeseen circumstances, especially since I didn't really expect to like someone like that," Rin answered her.  "But I'll tell you something, if you want to tell him how you feel, then go ahead.  Besides, it would probably have been much better than waiting for something to happen."

"I see," Sakura said, and Rin was wondering if she should do the same thing, given her current situation.  "But, you know, Rin, I don't know if I'm up to it."

"Neither do I," Rin said with a wink.

"Rin, are you still dating him…?"Sakura asked after a slight pause, and Rin gave her an odd look.  'Er… sorry, it's ok if you don't want to tell me…"

"Not exactly," Rin replied truthfully, it was a little depressing talking about this, and she really couldn't fathom why she was discussing this with a girl half her age.  "But even after 2 years, I can tell you that I still miss him."


	13. FB: Is that really you?

Almost a year into her attachment to Division 5, Rin was getting used to the work that was being done here, and figured that it was more interesting than getting sent on missions with other younger teammates.  She had requested Toko to put her almost permanently on the night shift, and it had been that way for almost a year.  She hardly got to see her brother anymore, because he mainly worked the day shift, while she was the opposite.  Also, in the past year, she had seemed to develop a slightly allergic reaction to sunlight…

"Rin, I don't suppose you have any more information on that one, do you?" Ibiki had asked her.  It had become almost commonplace for her to see him during her shift.  They were almost the only ones from their respective departments that worked on a permanent night shift, and Rin had become so accustomed to seeing him at that time of night, that if he were to appear at any other time of the day, it would strike her as really odd.

"No," Rin answered him.  "Why do you want to know anyway?  I thought you had interrogated him before?"

"Yes, but I can't help but feel that something else is missing," Ibiki muttered, and started to read the notes over again.  It had always seemed strange to her that even someone who appeared outwardly as cold as Ibiki would agree to come over and keep her company once in a while (or were his visits seemingly getting more often?).  Of course one of the reasons, was that the database that the assassination squad had kept, was probably the most comprehensive in all of Konoha.  

Over the last few days, Gai had been on her case again.  Then again, he was one of those that never seem to give up.  He had come sometime before midnight just now, to ask her out on a date… again.  He had just asked her for a date, when Ibiki entered.  It was embarrassing to say the least, but Rin could almost have seen something different in his eyes, it was almost like Ibiki was angry, dare she say, jealous?  No, it couldn't be.

"Ibiki, it's ok, Gai was just leaving, weren't you?" Rin told the Anbu squad leader, relieved to see him.  It would definitely have taken a much more heart hardened Jounin to stare down Ibiki, and Gai wasn't one of them.  Standing at 193.5cm, he was way taller than most people.  He also had a kind of death glare, which made him look even more intimidating when he stares at someone, especially with that scar-ridden face of his.

"Ok, I'll go, but I'll be back." Gai said, with such determination that made Rin a little sick.  "I'll definitely ask you out again.  Ja na!"  With that he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and Rin just rolled her eyes to the sky, praying for patience.    

"Rin," Ibiki said, interrupting her thoughts of what happened earlier.  "Why do you always entertain that Gai fella anyway?"

"Well, it would definitely be easier to get rid of him if I had a boyfriend or something, but unfortunately, I don't," She sighed, and continued.  "Besides, I don't believe in being mean to people unless necessary." 

"Ever thought of getting one?" Ibiki looked up at her, and Rin was kind of taken by surprise at that.

"How?" Rin asked him.  "Working the night shift doesn't exactly improve your social life, you know. Besides, it's not like as if I just go into a shop and purchase one or something like that."  

"I know what you mean, have heard about such complaints from one of my former classmates too," Ibiki told her, and smiled, closing his eyes.  "But I guess she shouldn't have much problem getting anyone to pose a temporary boyfriend."  It was at that moment that Rin suddenly noticed how close they were to each other, and she could feel her heart pounding wildly in her chest.

'**Why am I feeling like this…?**' Rin thought to herself, unfortunately, it hadn't occurred to her that Ibiki was staring at her either.  Something in his eyes just seemed to have caught her, and she just wondered what it would have been like to move a little closer to him…

She closed her eyes and felt his hand on her cheek, pulling her closer to him.  Their lips met, briefly at first, and the next thing she knew, she was locked in a deep passionate kiss, in the office, no doubt!  The notes that he was holding fell to the floor in a heap, but he didn't seem to notice.  When the kiss was over, she couldn't help but blush, and swallowed hard, all the while unable to take her eyes off him.  It took her a couple of minutes before she found her voice again.

"Er…I….," Rin didn't know what to say, but just felt her face grow hotter and she was finally able to look away.

"Rin, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you…" Ibiki started to say (was that disappointment in his voice?), and stood up after picking up his notes.  "Maybe I should leave…" 

"No, wait," Rin said, catching his hand as he was about to turn and leave.  "I'm not offended, but surprised, that's all.  Please stay…" The last was little more than a whisper, but he heard it nonetheless.

"Rin…" This was one of those times that he really didn't need to say more, and embraced her.  She had felt so warm, so secure, with him, and she had wished that that moment could have lasted forever.

"Don't leave me…" she whispered to him, and he tightened his embrace, immediately telling her how he had felt too.  It was a good couple of minutes before they let go, though a little reluctantly.

"You know, we have Gai to thank for all of this…" Rin told him after a while.  "If he hadn't asked me out on that date, I don't think any of this would have happened.

"Well, if you want to look at it that way…" Ibiki said, and smiled, after thinking for a while.  Rin only came up to his chest and it was interesting to see the 2 of them together.  "You know, I don't think anyone would believe that we're seeing each other."

"Why not?" Rin asked, absolutely beaming.

"Well, granted your reputation for being the a really sweet person and me for being a sadist, I don't think anyone would believe it." Ibiki commented to her.

"Would be fun to see their reactions though," Rin said, more than a little mischievously.  "Look at it this way, the next time Gai comes around, I won't need to ask someone to impersonate as my boyfriend.  I'll just go round the corner and look for you!"


	14. FB: I told you so!

"Rin, you know, I hardly get to see you anymore nowadays," Kakashi was telling her one day.  He still hadn't passed any students, and was working on more of a flexi hour type of concept.

"But I AM on night duty, and you are hardly around during the day…" Rin told her brother.

"Yes, but you seem slightly more busy, these 3 months, did something…come up?" Kakashi asked her.

"Like what?" Rin asked innocently.  She knew what he was asking about, but really wanted to torment him a little.

"Like a boyfriend, or seeing anybody…?" Kakashi asked her, and Rin turned to look at him.

"Well, now that you mention it, I kind of do remember getting a steady a couple of months ago…" Rin wondered out loud and Kakashi's eye seemed to widen a little.

"Tell me…it won't happen to be Gai, would it?" Rin laughed out loud.

"Gai?  What are you thinking?  You 2 are such arch rivals, I think that my getting involved with him would only complicate matters!"  She laughed until tears almost came out of her eyes.

"Then who…?" Kakashi asked her, relieved at hearing that it wasn't his arch rival.

"Morino Ibiki," Rin replied, and now it was Kakashi's turn to laugh.

"Ok, ok, quit kidding, who are you dating?" Kakashi asked her again.

"Morino Ibiki," Rin repeated, and Kakashi suddenly realized that she didn't seem to be joking.

"You're lying!  There's no way that you could be dating that Stone faced sadist!" Kakashi told her.

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me, but I have said the truth." Rin said, and yawned.  "I'm going to bed.  Oyasumi."  That said, a stunned Kakashi stared after her. 

On her next date with Ibiki, she told him about what happened with Kakashi, and said that he might be following them on one of their dates.

"That's ok," Ibiki replied.  "We don't have anything to hide anyway,"

"I just want to see the look on his face when he actually realizes that I was telling the truth!" Rin told him.  Unfortunately, she was going to miss it.  Kakashi was following her that time, and could only stare after her.  It was hard to believe that any of it for was real…


	15. Attacker!

"Who are you?" Rin asked the masked nin that stood before her. He definitely wasn't from the Anbu, and none of the policing squads from the other countries would be here for her, as her situation was one that was purely Konoha's problem. "What do you want?"

"You," came the strange reply. Suddenly, she had remembered what the Hokage had told her, that there would be people coming after her.

"Why?" Rin asked her attacker. It wasn't anything that she couldn't dodge. She had been on her way home, after parting ways with Sakura just a couple of hours earlier. She had felt an irregular presence following her, and she decided to take it to a much quieter spot, rather than let whoever it was know where she lived.

"I want your blood. To copy your line will make me stronger!" It was some power hungry freak, which was trying to overthrow the Hokage again. She had learnt that Orochimaru was not the only one with such a plan. She had seen Orochimaru before, and was quite sure that whoever this was, was definitely not him.

"We'll see about that," Rin said, and proceeded to do some hand seals. It wasn't a very long battle; Rin was never really good at an all out fight, which was probably one of the reasons why she had chosen to be an assassin. It was at a time when she realized that she wasn't really winning the battle, that something inside seemed to snap. She could feel something, like an instinct, take over.

"That's a good girl, just stay there, and wait for me to take what I need from you," the stranger told her, and advanced with a strange looking weapon.

"I don't think so," Rin replied and surprisingly, with one hand, performed the blood freezing jutsu. The stranger could feel his movements slowing almost to a point of stopping, but suddenly, he was able to break free from the jutsu. Rin stood up, and the stranger's eyes widened. Blood that had been spilt onto the ground was flowing backward towards her, healing her wounds in the process. She could feel her hands harden, somehow, and slowly, started to walk towards her attacker. He threw Kunai and Shuriken towards her, and it did hit their target, but he slowly found out that Rin's body spit them out and started to heal the wounds left by those weapons almost instantly. Panicking, the stranger summoned a familiar to help him. A group of wolves appeared and stood in front of the stranger, growling at Rin.

"Did you really think those mutts are going to help you?" Rin said, and without warning, lunged forward and bit one of the wolves by the neck, killing it instantly.

"What the…?" The stranger, who was caught by surprise, ordered the other wolves to attack in front, while he found an unguarded spot and tried to attack from the air. But it was no use. Rin had managed to pull off the replacement technique, and was now nothing but a piece of wood.

"You really should work on your sense of timing…" Rin commented from what seemed like out of nowhere, and another wolf yelped in surprise. Turning around, the stranger saw another wolf in her mouth, fangs practically glowing in the dark, the wolf's eyes seemed to be slowly drained of all life, and finally extinguished. "Now, it's my turn." With that, Rin started to activate 2 jutsu simultaneously! One in each hand. She had resurrected the 2 wolves to help her, as well as reversed the stranger's blood flow.

"Rin! Stop!" A voice came out from nowhere, losing control of the jutsu used on the stranger, his blood slowly regained its normal flow, but he was so badly shaken that he was unable to do anything. Rin turned towards the voice, and saw, Haruto! "Rin! Get a grip on yourself!"

'**I…have…to…stop…**" Rin was fighting an internal battle of her own. The bloodlust that was within her was threatening to overcome her. The smell of blood in the air was making her thirst for more. '**No…have…to…stop**." Rin was able to control it slightly better, as she had placed seals on herself before she had returned to the village. The seals have all surfaced, and Rin seemed to stand there, shaking like a leaf. It was a nerve racking half an hour before she managed to control her bloodlust, and reseal it.

"You ok?" Haruto asked her, when she seemed to be in control. He told his squad to step down from their formation, when she had seemed slightly more under control.

"Fine," Rin said, staggered a few steps, and everything went black.


	16. I'm glad

It was a couple of days later that Rin seemed to wake up.  The first thing she realized was that she was no longer in her own room.  It took her a couple of seconds to recollect what had happened, and she shot out of bed with a start.  She began regretting it immediately, as she could feel daggers behind her eyes, and it was probably going to be one huge headache…

"Rin, you're awake!" Haruto came in, followed by a really worried Mayumi.

"Shhh…Not so loud…" Rin whispered, and lay down again.  "I didn't hurt anyone this time, did I…?"

"No, you were able to control yourself, but it had seemed like some really tough battle for control…" Haruto told her, as he described the last moments before she passed out.  Everything still seemed a little fuzzy.

"You know, the Hokage is probably on his way here now," Mayumi informed her.  "It might be a good time to discuss ways to control that power of yours better.  Your attacker is being interrogated, and Toko is there too."  Rin just nodded.  

"Where did you get those seals anyway?" Haruto asked.  "I have never seen seals like that before."

"It was from a book that I found at the underground mansion." Rin whispered to them, as talking at her normal voice was just too painful at the moment.

"Where is the book now?" Haruto asked again, and Rin was getting a little suspicious.  Why should he care anyway?  "It isn't what you think, I just hope that no one gets hold of it, cause it would mean even more trouble for you."  A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and both Kakashi and the Hokage entered the room.

"Guess it's time for us to go…" Mayumi told her.  "We'll come see you again tomorrow?"  Rin nodded, and her friends turned to leave.  The Hokage and her brother didn't say a word, until the door was fully closed.

"Rin, good work.  I see that you are trying to control your abilities," Hokage said to her.

"Still working on it…" Rin told him.  She personally wasn't satisfied with her inability to control it better and faster.  

"It will take time." Kakashi told her, giving her a warm smile.  "It isn't easy with all these bloodline stuff, I should know."

"You'd better," Rin told him.

"Get some more rest Rin," Hokage told her.  "I'll see you when you're more up to it."  With that, the Hokage turned to leave, and Kakashi said his goodbye to her and left as well.  He had wanted to stay a while longer, but she knew that he had to teach tomorrow and told him to get some rest.  It wasn't long before she fell asleep and didn't wake till the next morning.

"Did you hear?" Mayumi asked her.  She had awakened the next day, and the doctor deemed her fit for discharge, and was given something for the headache.

"About what?" Rin asked.  "I haven't exactly been moving around, you know…"

"I had wanted to tell you about this earlier but Haruto wouldn't let me, he said you should rest a bit more before we told you." Mayumi stuck her tongue out a little sheepishly.

"What is it?" Rin was getting a little irritated.  Mayumi had offered to escort her home, as she was still afraid that anyone might want to attack her in this weakened state.

"That guy that attacked you, was sent almost immediately to the interrogation squad, and he practically broke down when Ibiki interrogated him." Mayumi seemed to take some joy in that.

"Huh?" Rin was still a little confused.  Her brain wasn't quite up to optimum yet.

"Ibiki learned about the attack that was made on you and he practically flew off the handle!  He was so angry, that the poor guy didn't even last 5 minutes alone with him!  And that was without using any torture techniques, mind you!"  Mayumi retold the tale to her.

"He did what?" Rin asked.  She had known that Ibiki was practically known everywhere for what he could do to get the information he needed, but to go to that extreme?  "You're exaggerating…"

"No, I'm not!  Toko san was there seeing the interrogation as well, from the next room? And even she didn't quite believe what he did to the guy!" Mayumi told her, but Rin still seemed skeptical.  "I think deep down he still cares very much for you, if not, he wouldn't risk prolonging the guy's agony just because of the fact that he can!"

"Mayumi!  How could you say something like that?!" Rin said, and turned a really fascinating shade of red.

"Then why are you blushing?" Mayumi countered, and ducked a blow from Rin, laughing all the way back to her apartment.  


	17. It hurts too much

Rin spent the next few days trying to better her seals, and even in between helping to teach Sakura and the seals, even Kakashi realized how tired she was.

"You know, you really should go out and relax," Kakashi commented to her lazily one day.  

"Huh?" Rin wasn't really concentrating on what he was saying apparently.

"I said, you should go out, and relax," he said again, and when she didn't answer, he took the book away from her and practically demanded that she go for a walk and to not come back until well after midnight.

"Geez, what kind of a brother are you? Telling me not to come back till well after midnight?" Rin told him.

"The kind that wants to see you get some rest away from this," he said, pointing to the book of seals.  Rin knew that Kakashi could be pretty stubborn at times and this was probably one of those times.

"Ok, fine," Rin admitted defeat, took her coat and left.  '**Geez, he's hardly been like this!  Besides, didn't he train and work just as hard during his training days?!**'  It was hard to admit, but she was a little miffed at the way Kakashi practically threw her out of the house.  It was a time when the seasons were just starting to change, and there was a familiar smell in the air that Rin couldn't ignore.  There was only one place she would go at this time of year.

It was the edge of a forest, or kind of.  It was actually a small clearing that overlooked the whole village.  It was said that a great earthquake many years ago had caused this forest to split up from its other half at the bottom of the cliff.  Sitting with her legs dangling over the edge, she leaned against the nearest tree and let her mind wonder freely.

'**So I guess the conclusion is that I'm going to stay**,' Rin thought about what had happened since she had returned.  '**I wonder what will the Hokage do when I tell him my decision.  Then again, I don't think he'll give me my old job back, will he**?' It was at times like this when she really wished for advice from someone who knew her background, maybe her real parents, an aunt, uncle, cousin, anybody, that understood what it was like to have this kind of a bloodline.

'**I just wished that I could have controlled it better, why didn't anyone tell me that I was so dangerous**?'  A small voice in her head told her that maybe even they hadn't known about it?  But it had seemed like such a lame excuse.  With such a bloodline, it was entirely possible for her to kill, almost too easily.  '**I wonder what it was that had made me snap in the first place?  If it had only manifested during the time of the Jounin exam, then what was so special about it?  Was there someone that was there that I hadn't noticed?  What was it that drew me back from that state anyway**?'

"It's been a long time, Rin," a familiar voice jolted her awake.  It was embarrassing, as a Jounin, she hadn't even realized that someone was coming up behind her.  But she didn't turn around, she didn't need to since she already knew whom it was.

"It has, hasn't it?" Rin replied and felt the owner of the voice come closer to her.  "I thought you would be on duty at this time of night."

"Things change," he told her.  "I just want to know what has changed in the last 2 years."

"The difference is that I've finally found out about my heritage, and honestly, I don't like it." Rin admitted, the first in a long time.  

"What did you find?" he sat down next to her, and stared off in a distance.  

"Almost too much, Ibiki," Rin said, and proceeded to tell him, though with a lot of difficulty, about what she had found out about her parents, and what kind of a heritage that she had.  He didn't say a word throughout her tale, and waited for her to finish.  After a few minutes of silence, he spoke up.

"I hated you," he said, and Rin wanted to die there and then.  Knowing that he hated her was already bad enough, but hearing it from him was the most painful thing that she would ever have to endure.  "I'm sorry Rin, but I really did.  I couldn't understand it myself, but when you did that for me, it felt like you had taken away my right to choose, to live or to die.  I didn't even know if I was supposed to be dead or alive anymore."

"If I had known that was how you felt, I would never have done it.  I never even realized what I'd done until the doctor woke me to say you've recovered and asked me what I was doing with the kunai," Rin told him honestly, just like she had done 2 years ago.  This conversation was so much like déjà vu that all the memories of what happened before she left had started to resurface. 


	18. FB: What have I done?

Rin had remembered recovering from her wounds and was allowed to go and see Ibiki.  His situation hadn't been all that great.  In fact, from what they knew, it was getting worse, and 2 weeks after the attack, it looked like as if he wasn't going to make it.  She sat by his bed and could do nothing but cry.

'I'm really going to lose him forever, and it was all my fault!  Now there's nothing I can do!' Rin was absolutely distraught, and nothing that Kakashi, the Hokage or her 2 best friends could say, could make her feel any better.  

'**But there is something that you can do…**' a low growling voice seemed to say to her in her mind.

'**Who are you**?' Rin tried to look around, but was unable to find anyone.

'**You'll find out soon enough**,' the voice said.  '**But that's not why I'm here.  You wanted to save him, right**?'

'**Yes**,' even that thought came out like a whisper.  '**It's all my fault, and I have to do something about it**.' 

'**Then share your blood with him**.' The voice told her plainly.  '**Let your blood mix, that's the only way he'll be able to heal and survive the wounds**.'

'**But…**' Rin hesitated.  Who was this voice anyway?  Why did she have to listen to him?

'**Because only I can offer you a solution**.' The voice told her, calmly.  '**You'd better not take to long to consider though, it doesn't look like he could hang on for much longer…**'  With that Rin stopped hesitating and did what the voice had told her.  She did save him, and he did recover, faster than what anyone would expect, but she never thought that what she did made her lose him in another way.  When he learned what she had done, his eyes grew cold, and distant.  He avoided her in anyway that he could.  She had tried everything she could do, but he just wanted to be left alone.

Then, she made up her mind that she's had enough.  She had found some books in the central library that mentioned the great wars and about a special group of ninjas that no longer existed and had powers similar to hers.  She decided to leave, and that was it, for 2 years. 


	19. An answer at last

Rin didn't want to continue with this conversation any longer.  She had gotten the answer that she came to find, and no matter how painful, she would just have to accept it.  She stood up to leave, but Ibiki blocked her way.

"Rin, wait, let me finish," he told her, and she found that she really couldn't say 'no.'  "I said that I hated you, but that didn't mean that I've not missed you."  Rin was caught off guard by that statement.  "I was angry at first, but after you left, the days started to stretch and I started to remember the times when I would see you almost everyday."  He put one gloved hand to her cheek and wiped away a single tear.

"I still love you, Rin," Ibiki told her, she tried to look away, afraid that when she looked at him, all of this would turn out to be some kind of illusion or dream.  However, he didn't let go and lifted her chin to make eye contact with her.  "I don't want to forget that incident, but I don't want to throw away what we had either."

"What are you saying?" Rin asked him, as if she wasn't sure what he had meant.

"I want to get back together, Rin." He said, as sincerely as he could manage.

"But…" Rin didn't know what to say.

"When I saw you the other day, I wanted to tell you all of this, but I knew that it wasn't the right time, especially from what Haruto has told me." Ibiki had actually been asking Haruto to set up a meeting for him and Rin, but he never agreed.

'**Haruto**?' Rin didn't realize that Haruto had anything to do with it.  No wonder he's been pressing her about what she was going to do about this.  It was also very likely that he had been in cahoots with Mayumi on this one.  

"And when I heard about the attack the other day, that someone would try to kill you, I…" Rin put a finger to his lips and stopped him.  With her other hand, she reached for his hand, only to find it clenched into a fist, shaking with anger.

"I heard," was all that she could say.  "I'm just glad that you're still looking out for me…" 

"I will always look out for you, Rin," Ibiki told her and enveloped her in an embrace, something that she hadn't felt for 2 over years, and it still felt like how he held her the first time, when they started seeing each other.

"Don't leave me…" Rin said, barely a whisper, but both understood the meaning behind those words.

THE END 

Thanks for all the reviews, I've been really encouraged to write another fic.  ^_^

However, I haven't had much ideas after all that, so if anyone has got any ideas, email me.  I'll see if I can come up with something, ok?  Cya!  


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